S.L.C. may return to Tuanaimato

Government is considering relocating the Samoa Land Corporation from the top floor of the Vaitele Market, back to the empty, former headquarters of S.L.C. at Tuanaimato.

This is according to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Fio Purcell who spoke in an interview with the Samoa Observer last week.

“That’s one of the many options that the government is looking at and it will be officially confirmed sometime soon,” Lautafi said.

S.L.C. vacated their multi-storey headquarters in 2014 and shifted their operations to the top floor of the Vaitele Market.

Meanwhile, the headquarters has been vacant for three years.

The move was made in the hopes that a tenant could be found for the premises overlooking the Faleata Golf Course.

In April 2015, Cabinet had announced that the negotiations to lease the office complex at Tuanaimato so that it could be converted to a commercially -owned accommodation complex, had reached a deadlock.

However despite some initial interest expressed by local business people, Government has been unable to attract a tenant or a buyer.

Former interested parties cited inflated prices for their decisions to look elsewhere.

An overseas group, ‘Hope for Cancer’ was then offered the premises but they were unable to reach an agreement with Government.They also received a negative reaction from health workers, members of the public and specifically, the Samoa Cancer Society.

Lautafi did not reveal the reason for S.L.C.’s possible return to Tuanaimato but the lack of interest by prospective tenants or buyers coupled with the lease in February of the Vaitele Market to the owner of Coin Save, Tu’itu’ioaiga Teeking Weng, may well be the contributing factors.